Mallikarjun Kharge has been elected new Congress president. The counting for the election held on october 17 was conducted on Wednesday. Kharge polled over 7,000 votes while his opponent Shashi Tharoor got nearly 1,000. Reacting to the poll result, senior leader Shashi Tharoor, the defeated candidate, tweeted: "It is a great honour & a huge responsibility to be President of @INCIndia &I wish @Kharge ji all success in that task. It was a privilege to have received the support of over a thousand colleagues,& to carry the hopes& aspirations of so many well-wishers of Congress across India."
Congratulating Mr Kharge, Mr Tharoor said: "Would like to convey my warm congratulations to him for his victory in Congress poll."He further said: "We owe an irredeemable debt to outgoing president Sonia Gandhi for leadership and for being the anchor during the most crucial moments."Mr Tharoor said: "My thanks to Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for doing their own bit to support free and neutral Congress president election."